


through the dark, there is light

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Het, Neighbours, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-05 05:11:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10298267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Joe is sitting at home one Saturday afternoon when his new neighbour knocks on the door with a big problem. Turns out he and his family are just what she needs.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For one million words rare pair challenge. Prompt "unexpected neighbours"

It was an ordinary Saturday morning, where Joe was at home, a stack of paperwork to catch up on and a mountain of chores to do. So, of course, when the knock on the door came, he was sitting on his couch, cup of coffee in one hand, morning paper on his knee open to the sports pages, because he got enough of the other stuff at work. The knock was loud enough to wake the dead, rapid enough that it spoke of a certain urgency on the part of the person doing the knocking and he'd been a cop for long enough, a dad for long enough, that he was on his feet in an instant, coffee and newspaper forgotten, crossing to the door in a few quick strides and wrenching it open.

Standing there, hand raised as if to knock again, was his new neighbour, a tall, slender young woman who looked to be only a few years older than Barry and Iris. Her eyes were wide, panicked even, and her clothes were soaking wet. "I'm sorry to bother you," she said, no greeting, no introduction. "But I live next door to you and our houses are practically identical and I have a small water leak and I don't know where-"

Joe was way ahead of her. "I've got a toolbox in the basement," he said, already turning on his heel and heading down the stairs. "Give me a sec, ok?"

Her "Thank you," followed him down the stairs. 

An hour later, he was standing in her kitchen, water finally having stopped gushing - and she'd been lying about the water leak, there had been nothing small about it - she was handing him a towel,possible one of the few that was not lying on the floor soaking up water, not that that one small towel was going to do much with the amount of water he'd taken on. Still, he did his best with it, wiping down his face and chest and arms as best as he could, tilting his head towards the sink. "I think I've patched it up," he told her. "But you should probably get a plumber out here to check it over." 

The woman - he still didn't know her name - pushed her hair back behind her ears with both hands, held them to the side of her head. Joe knew that gesture - it was something Iris did when she felt particularly stressed. "I don't suppose you know the name of anyone local? I'm new to this part of town and in my old place, the landlord dealt with all of that..." She was speaking quickly, almost rambling and Joe nodded as he went through his mental Rolodex. 

"I know a guy," he said. "He's good, won't rip you off for coming out on a weekend... let me call him." He took his cell phone out of the toolbox where he'd thrown it when he'd first arrived, scrolled through the list of names until he found the one he was looking for. A quick conversation later, a favour called in and he was able to look at her and smile. "He'll be out about two... if that suits you of course..."

"Oh, that suits me." She'd regained control of her emotions, it would appear, leaning back against the kitchen counter, clutching the edge of it with her knuckles white. "Thank you, by the way." 

"Hey, what are neighbours for?" He tossed the phone back into his toolbox. "It's nice to meet you by the way... I'm Joe West." He held out his hand as he stepped towards her and her cheeks flushed as she took it. 

"Caitlin Snow." Her grip was strong, firm, brief. "Thank you again, for helping me... like I said, the landlord used to handle all this... well, him and my fiancé." Her eyes fell to the floor and if he knew anything about people, there was a story there, and not a good one. 

"You know," he said conversationally, hoping to draw her out, "I was pretty surprised to see someone had finally bought this place. It's a bit of a fixer-upper." Which might have been putting it mildly and she laughed at the obvious understatement. 

"That was Ronnie's idea." She shook her head as she looked up at the ceiling, her long brown hair swaying in its ponytail. "He was an engineer, he loved to build things, tinker with things. He walked in here and all he could see was potential." 

"Yeah?" He moved so that he was standing beside her, mimicking her pose as he too leaned back against the counter. "What did you see?"

"Bills, mostly." Her frank assessment made him chuckle. "But mostly how happy he was, how much he wanted it... I never could say no to that look." 

There was a moment of silence where he tried to find the words to ask his next question. She saved him the trouble, saying, "We met at work... in STAR Labs." She didn't have to say anything else, memories of the news reports, the chaos in the streets, a plane falling out of the sky, dancing across his vision. 

"I'm sorry." 

She met his gaze then, gave him a small smile. "The sale of this place had already gone through... and the insurance company paid out so it was mine... and I probably should have sold it, that would have been the sensible thing to do..."

"But you couldn't let go of the dream?" It was a guess but from the way her smile widened, it was a good one. 

"Does that sound stupid?" 

It was a genuine question and he shook his head. "Not at all." He looked around the room, even a cursory scan finding at least a dozen things that needed fixing up. "I know a few people who could help you out, I could make you a list of names, if you like..."

The way her shoulders dropped spoke of her relief. "That would be great." She gestured with one hand to the countertop across the room. "Would you like some coffee? It seems the least I can do after..." Her hand waved up and down his body and he grinned, thinking of the cup that was by now stone cold on his living room table. 

"That would be great." 

Two steaming mugs of coffee were duly produced, accompanied by a plate of chocolate chip cookies that were so good he actually closed his eyes as he chewed the first bite. When he looked at her again, there was a smile on her face that looked distinctly pleased, if a little bashful. "Don't tell me you made these." 

One shoulder raised and fell in a shrug. "My grandma used to tell me that cooking was like a science experiment where you got to eat the result," she told him and he laughed. "I guess it became my go-to stress reliever somewhere during the last six months." 

Joe held the cookie, by now half eaten, in front of him, studied it. "If stress gets me more of these, I'm rescinding my offer of a list of contractors." 

"You saved my house from flooding and got me a plumber with a couple of hours notice; I think I owe you an extra large batch." 

She may have been joking, but he decided to act as if she wasn't. "You got more recipes like this up your sleeve, I got two boys next door willing to pretty much be your slave."

Her eyes danced as she reached out and snagged a cookie for herself. "Two kids?"

"Three," he said and she tilted her head. "Iris is just finishing up her master's in journalism. Wally's studying engineering at CCU. Barry's a CSI, works with me a lot of the time - I'm a detective with CCPD." 

Caitlin looked impressed. "Talented family." 

Joe shrugged, trying not to look pleased but knowing he was failing completely. After all, praise for his kids was something he never got tired of hearing. "They turned out pretty good," was all he would let himself say. He ran his thumb along the inside of his ring finger, across the smooth gold of his wedding ring. "We've had some tough times." He raised his coffee cup to his lips, took a long swallow, his throat suddenly tight. "Francine, my wife, she passed two years ago. MacGregor's Syndrome." He paused. "That's-"

"I know what that is." He blinked at the words, blinked again at the sympathy he saw in her face. "I'm a doctor... a geneticist. I know what MacGregor's Syndrome is." 

That was good for another sip of coffee, not to mention a second cookie. Only when it was gone, only crumbs remaining, did he speak again. "Anyway, we get by ok. More than get by."

Caitlin's smile was sad suddenly. "You're lucky."

It sounded like there was another story there, but he didn't press for that one. "We are." 

He wasn't prepared for the sharp spike of disappointment that shot through him when Caitlin stood up. "I'll wrap up some more of those cookies for you."

"You don't-"

She was already pulling a tupperware container out of a cupboard. "What can I say, the promise of having some neighbourhood kids at my beck and call is too good a prospect to pass up." Once again, there was a twinkle in her eye as she spoke and he felt himself smiling back at her. 

"You trust me to actually hand these over to my kids?" She laughed at that and he lifted one eyebrow. "I'm not kidding."

"I wouldn't worry." Caitlin looked around her, brow furrowing as her eyes moved across the kitchen and through the open door into the dining room. "With this place the way it is, I'm sure I see more stress baking in my future." 

"Well, now we know each other, you know where I am if you need anything." He drained the last of the coffee, stood up and accepted the box she was holding out to him. "You'll let me know how you get on this afternoon?"

The expression on her face would have been comical if he hadn't been serious. She blinked, looked down and pressed her lips together tightly. "Thank you," she said eventually. 

"Like I said... what are neighbours for?"

He called over again that afternoon after he saw the plumber's van leaving, arriving with a list of contractors, leaving with a second box of cookies - it turned out Caitlin really hadn't been kidding about the stress baking. He didn't think about it much after that, not until the next Saturday evening when there was a much softer knock at the door and he answered it to see Caitlin standing there, a foil covered plate in her hands. 

"I was kidding about the cookies," was his greeting to her and she bit her lip, looking across the yard. 

"That's what I thought," she said. "Except I left the house early this morning to finish an experiment and when I did, the grass on my front lawn was almost climbing in my windows." She said it with a smile but he'd noticed the grass the previous day, knew she was exaggerating only slightly. "I came home at lunchtime and it appears to have cut itself." Her voice rose in a teasing question. "I was wondering if you knew anything about that?" 

Joe actually didn't but he stepped out on to the porch beside her, blinking as he saw her perfectly manicured lawn, his own equally so. The solution was immediately obvious to him. "Not me," he said, holding up his hands. "I was at a crime scene til three a.m.; I only woke up a couple hours ago." She frowned and he inclined his head back towards the house. "I asked Wally to cut our grass... I'm guessing he used his initiative and did yours too." 

Caitlin looked taken aback at that. "That was nice of him." 

Joe chuckled. "I'm not entirely sure he did it out of the goodness of his heart." When she narrowed her eyes, he continued, "He's spent most of the last week raving about those, and I do quote, bomb-ass cookies I brought home last Saturday. He was probably hoping to get in your good books and hit you up for more." 

Much to his relief, Caitlin looked not in the slightest bit perturbed. "I'll take that deal." 

Joe felt a grin crossing his face at the same time as he heard familiar footsteps making their way down the stairs. "Hey, Wally," he called without turning around. "C'mere." 

Wally loped over to them, all gangly arms and legs, his face drawn into a frown that brightened into a smile that lit up his eyes to almost cartoonish effect the second he saw the plate in Caitlin's hands. "Yeah, Dad?" 

"Son, this is our new neighbour, Caitlin. It appears her grass mowed itself this morning." He adopted Caitlin's phrasing, glancing at her as he did and seeing her lips twitch. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Wally looked at him, then back to Caitlin, his most earnest expression on his face as he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans and shrugged. Joe knew that look - it was the one he'd seen Wally adopt with Francine when he wanted to get his own way. When Wally actually began to speak, Joe actually couldn't look at him - the kid had the charm dialled all the way up to eleven. "I hope you don't mind, Ma'am," he said and Joe bit the inside of his cheek at the last word. "But my dad told us that you were there alone and I know from this place how hard it is to stay on top of things, and there's four of us." He shrugged, his gaze flicking between Caitlin's face and her hands and Joe was by now hard pressed to keep from laughing out loud. 

"It was very kind of you." Caitlin wasn't even trying to hide her smile. Extending the plate she added, "I brought you those to say thank you." 

"Sweet!" Wally all but grabbed the plate from her hands and disappeared into the house, leaving Joe and Caitlin staring after him. 

"Don't eat all those, dinner's just ready!" Joe called after him before turning back to Caitlin. "I apologise... your baking seem to make him forget his manners." 

Caitlin's shoulders were shaking with laughter. "Then shouldn't I be apologising for being a bad influence?"

Joe lifted one eyebrow. "That makes two of us," he said and, off her confused frown he continued, "Kid's got a sweet tooth... and much as I'd love to claim no repsonsibility for that, as Francine always said, he did not lick it from a stamp." 

"Well, in that case..." Caitlin took a step backwards. "I'd better let you get inside before he does serious damage to the plate." 

She was halfway down the stairs before he heard his own voice calling her name and when she turned, it was his turn to jam his hands into his pockets, just like Wally had. "If you haven't had dinner yet... you're welcome to join us." 

Her cheeks flushed and she smiled, even as she was shaking her head. "I couldn't impose-" she began, stopping when he snorted with suppressed laughter. 

"I work long hours," he told her. "And I have two young men inside that never outgrew the hungry teenage phase. With all that, you'd best believe I cook enough to have plenty of leftovers." He'd made enough of Grandma Esther's noodle dish for at least eight people and that was eight people who ate portions like Wally and Barry - looking at Caitlin's slender frame, he didn't think she'd have anywhere near that. "Besides, it seems only fair since you've already brought dessert..." Dimly, he could hear Barry and Wally's voices and it was enough to make him reconsider his assessment. "Or maybe appetisers..."

Caitlin laughed at that, even as her eyes moved to look at her house, dark and empty, then back to his where a third voice had by now joined the two previous ones. She bit her lip again, clearly wavering. "If you're sure-"

"Get in here." He was fairly sure his grin negated the order but she did it anyway. 

It turned out she fit in with his rowdy bunch of kids just fine, even doing a damn good job of hiding her obvious surprise when she caught sight of Barry. She held her own with the conversation, answered any questions that they put to her and, despite his assumptions about her appetite, she finished the plate of food he served up and even managed the seconds that Iris deposited on her plate. 

Later, when Wally had gone out to meet some friends - "No drinking," Joe had ordered, in hope more than in expectation - and Barry and Iris had disappeared to go to the movies - and no, he didn't want to know any more than that - Caitlin turned to him with a curious expression on her face. "Let me guess," he said, holding the bottle of red wine above her glass, refilling it when she nodded, "you're wondering how Barry is my kid." 

Her cheeks flushed but she didn't look away from his gaze. "I can't be the only one who's ever asked." 

Joe tilted his head in wordless acknowledgement. "Barry and Iris have been friends since grade school," he began as he topped up his own glass too. He knew he'd need the liquid courage; no matter how many times he told this story, it never got easier. "And when they were eleven years old, one night I was on duty and I got called to a crime scene... at Barry's house. His dad had killed his mom." Caitlin's eyes grew wide in horror and Joe took a sip from his glass as he remembered that night. "Barry saw the whole thing."

"Oh my god." 

"He had no relatives so it looked like Child Services were going to take him... until I said he could stay with us." He chuckled, remembering that phone call to Francine, on a borrowed cell phone the size of a brick that he could hardly hear her on. "I thought Francine would throw a fit, we already had two kids and things weren't exactly flush... she told me in no uncertain terms that if I didn't bring that poor boy home with me, I wasn't to come home either." He shrugged. "He's been here ever since."

Caitlin frowned as she twirled the stem of the wine glass between her thumb and index finger. "And him and Iris... They're..."

"Involved, is what I like to leave it at." He knew he must look as uncomfortable as he felt and it seemed to amuse her hugely. "That's new. He's been in love with her since they were kids; I never thought he'd actually do anything about it. And if my partner hadn't asked her out about six months ago, I might still be waiting for him to get the courage up." He'd found out about that well after the fact, which was the only reason Eddie was still his partner - well, that and the sure and certain knowledge that it was his interest in Iris, and hers in him, that had finally galvanised Barry into action. "They keep the PDA to a minimum around me and they make a pretty decent pretence that they're maintaining separate bedrooms and beyond that, I do not ask and they sure as hell do not tell." A good gulp of wine followed that and Caitlin laughed softly. 

"I had a good time with them," she said, all her concentration on the base of her glass. "Thank you for inviting me." 

"Any time," he said, extending his glass to hers and when she clinked hers against his, he realised he meant it. 

Which was a good thing because over the next few months, they saw a lot of each other, Caitlin joining them for dinner at least once a week, becoming a much sought after team-mate during Game Night. Wally cut her grass whenever he cut theirs, and a plate of cookies of varying textures and flavours, each as delicious as the last, was duly deposited on the West family dining table. When fall came and the lawn didn't need to be mowed, he turned to raking her leaves; when he needed to interview an engineer for a project, she fixed him up with one of her Mercury Labs colleagues. One Saturday evening she mentioned she was planning to start painting her living room the next day: first thing Sunday morning, the entire West family showed up on her doorstep in their oldest clothes and between the five of them, they made short work of the living room, got the kitchen and downstairs hall done too. On Joe's birthday, she outdid herself with a truly spectacular chocolate cake, so rich and decadent that even the West family couldn't finish it all, so he brought some into the precinct and not long after that, Singh and the rest of his buddies there were constantly dropping hints about special occasions coming up. 

He didn't realise how much he was enjoying her company until fall gave way to winter and it was just him and Iris in the house one night. They were sitting on the couch in front of a roaring fire when she clicked the mute button on the remote control, turned to him with a question in her eyes. "Dad... you know Wally and Barry and me... you know we're OK, right?"

Joe cocked his head at the apparent non sequitur. "Some reason you shouldn't be?"

Iris shifted slightly, her eyes moving to the picture on the mantelpiece, the entire West family at her and Barry's high school graduation. "What I mean is... Mom's been gone for almost three years now. And if you wanted to... if there was someone..." She sucked in a deep breath as she looked back to him. "We're OK with that." 

Which Joe couldn't deny was nice to hear, but the fact of the matter was, it wasn't anywhere near his radar. "Where is this coming from?" 

"We seen you," she said, and he knew she was choosing her words carefully. "With Caitlin." 

"Caitlin?" Joe couldn't keep the word back, any more than he could stop his jaw from falling open, stop himself from staring at Iris. 

Iris's face was caught somewhere between standing her ground and wanting to be anywhere else but there. "You two have been spending a lot of time together..."

"We're friends-"

"Barry and I were friends." 

"Baby, please don't go there." Joe ran a hand over his face because top of the list of things he never wanted to discuss with his daughter was her romantic life and his romantic life. 

"Dad, Caitlin is good for you. The last few months she's been around, you've laughed more, you've smiled more than you have in the last three years." He opened his mouth to object but she didn't let him, kept right on talking. It was a trick he knew she'd picked up from her mother. "And I know, you're going to tell me you've laughed and smiled plenty, and you have. But it's different with her. We've all noticed it." She leaned forward in her seat, laid her hand on his knee. "All any of us want is for you to be happy, Dad." She swallowed, sudden tears in her eyes. "That's all Mom would want too." 

With that, she stood, kissing his cheek and heading upstairs, leaving him alone with his thoughts. 

He stared into the fire for a long time that night, trying to make sense of things and, as if the talk with Iris had awakened the possibility in his head, he found himself, in the next few times he was talking to Caitlin, noticing things he'd never noticed before. Like how easily he could talk to her, how he could suddenly look at the clock and realise that an hour and more had passed. How he could accurately read the most minute change in her facial expressions, how he'd know if she'd had a bad day just by looking at her. How her eyes danced when she laughed, the exact way the lamplight caught her hair as she tucked a strand of it behind one ear. How her body felt against his as she hugged him goodnight, how soft her cheek was under his lips as he kissed her there - and when exactly, he wondered, had it become second nature to do that? 

But none of that mattered, he told himself firmly. Because Caitlin was his friend, his neighbour. Sixteen years younger than him, all too recently bereaved, she didn't need him coming on strong, ruining the good thing they had going. 

And it was a good thing and he was ok with that. He was. 

Then came Christmas. 

It was actually Iris who first asked Caitlin, over Grandma Esther's famous chicken casserole, what her Christmas plans were. Her expression was completely neutral - a little too carefully neutral, Joe thought, and he could see the barest gleam in her eyes as she asked, though Iris studiously avoided looking at him. Oblivious to the interplay, Caitlin looked down, her cheeks darkening. "I don't actually have any plans," she said. "I'll probably go to a friend's house."

Wally tilted his head as he abandoned spearing a piece of chicken. That was Joe's first clue that more than one of his kids was in on this. "No family?" 

Caitlin's smile was tight as Iris glared at her brother. "My dad died a long time ago, and my mom and I don't exactly get along. For the last few years, I went to Ronnie's family, and last year..." She swallowed, reached for her wine glass. "I pretty much wanted to forget about Christmas." 

Which was perfectly understandable, in Joe's view. Maybe Wally's too, because he nodded. "Why don't you come here?" he asked and it was almost funny how wide Caitlin's eyes went. 

"I couldn't-"

"Sure you could." It was Iris who interrupted her. "We always have a party on Christmas Eve... turkey, ham, Grandma Esther's eggnog..."

"Which is super strong, so be careful." Joe's head whipped around at Wally's announcement and the kid reached up and pulled at his ear, twisting away from Joe. "Or so they tell me." 

"Half the neighbourhood ends up here," Barry cut in. "And then Christmas Day, we're in our pyjamas pretty much most of the day, eating leftovers. Iris is right, you should come." 

Caitlin's eyes roved over all three of his kids before landing on Joe, head tilted in question. She was waiting for him, he realised, waiting for him to say she should come. "They're right," he said. "It wouldn't be the same without you." 

Caitlin smiled at that, though it was nothing compared to Iris's grin, and from the way Barry jumped and strangled a yelp, Joe would bet every last cent in his bank account that Iris had just delivered a well timed kick to his shins underneath the table. 

"That sounds great," Caitlin said, and Wally literally crowed with delight. 

"Awesome." Then he leaned forward, eyed Caitlin conspiratorially. "So, what's your stance on Christmas baking?" 

Everyone at the table cracked up and when Wally insisted that he was serious, they laughed even harder.

"So, how do you feel about gingerbread?" Caitlin asked Joe later, when it was just the two of them in the kitchen, him up to his elbows in a sink of dirty dishes, her standing beside him drying them, even though he'd told her countless times on countless evenings that she didn't have to. 

His hands stilled in the water and he glanced over at her. "Wally was kidding about the baking," he said and she actually laughed at that. 

"No he wasn't."

Cursing his kid's sweet tooth, not to mention the insouciance of youth, Joe had to give her that. "No, he wasn't," he allowed. "But you don't have to bake something every time you cross that threshold. We'd let you in without it, you know." 

Her lips curved in a smile and she looked down, obviously pleased. "Good to know," she murmured and, in case he'd overplayed his hand a little, he shrugged as he began scrubbing the casserole dish again. 

"But I do love gingerbread."

Her giggle was music to his ears. 

Which was nothing compared to the feast for his eyes when she arrived on Christmas Eve. There were quite a few people already there by the time she arrived, which meant Iris was the one who opened the door to her, which luckily meant that Joe had time to compose himself once he caught sight of her. He'd grown used to her in her work clothes, in her casual clothes, sitting on his couch or at his table. He'd never seen her dressed up, couldn't fail to miss how the little black dress she was wearing clung to her curves, how the skirt, just a tiny bit shorter than the ones she wore to work, nonetheless managed to show off her legs to stunning effect. She'd curled her hair, clipped back some bits of it, but enough flowed down her back to make his fingers twitch with sudden desire. 

To hell with it, he decided, as he finally let himself name the emotions he'd been battling with for weeks now, ever since that conversation with Iris. If anyone caught him looking, he'd just blame the eggnog. 

"Oh wow." Iris's voice cut through the hubbub of the room, the fog in his brain. "Dad, come here and look at this." 

The sheer joy and wonder in his voice had him moving across the room to the dining room table, where several people were already beginning to gather, the looks on their faces matching Iris's voice exactly. When he made his way to the front of the group, saw what was on the table, he knew why. 

Caitlin had indeed tackled a gingerbread creation, but where he'd been expecting cookies, Santas and reindeer and the like, she'd made a gingerbread house. And not just any gingerbread house either, he noticed straight away. 

His house. 

"You even put the number on." Iris was still amazed, peering at it closely from every angle. "This is amazing." 

"It's definitely going on Facebook," Barry agreed, pulling out his cell phone and snapping away. 

"It's almost too pretty to eat, thank you so much..." Iris was hugging Caitlin as Wally looked at her, a frown on his face. 

"But we are eating it, right?"

The look Iris gave him was half amusement, half exasperation but Joe forgot all about it when he heard Caitlin's laugh. She was standing beside him, he realised, cheeks more pink than the heat of the room could reasonably account for and as she looked up at him and their eyes met, he felt an answering smile steal across his own lips. 

"Wow," he said simply and her cheeks darkened a shade further. "You've outdone yourself." 

She shrugged but her smile grew wider and her eyes sparkled as she looked at her creation, then back to him. "It's Christmas," she said. "And you've all done so much for me... I wanted to do something special." 

The words left his lips before he could stop them, heedless of who was around them, who might overhear. "I wasn't just talking about the cake," he said. 

She blinked and for the briefest of seconds he thought he'd overstepped his bounds. Only for a second though, because that was how long it took for her to tilt her head, quirk one eyebrow. "I'm glad you noticed," she said, her voice lower than usual and it might have been a while, but Joe knew flirting when he saw it. 

But of course, even if no-one overheard him, they were surrounded by a room full of people and that was the moment that David Singh chose to come up to them, a curious expression on his face. "So this is the famous Caitlin who put half my department on a sugar high for your birthday?" Despite the words and the tone of his voice, from his expression it was obvious he was joking and Caitlin responded accordingly. 

"Guilty," she said and David held out his hand, shook it firmly. 

"Trust me, it was worth it," he said and Joe snickered as he clapped his friend - definitely his friend tonight, not his boss - on the shoulder. 

"Says the man who had two slices." 

All amusement vanished from David's face as his head snapped around to Joe. "Don't tell Rob," he said simply, moving by him to get a good look at the gingerbread house and Joe laughed as Caitlin looked confused. 

Taking pity on her, Joe extended his hand, leading her over to the other side of the table, pouring her a glass of wine. "Rob's his fiancé," he explained as he walked. "He's into healthy eating and thinks David should be too..." He let his voice trail off as he looked over his shoulder, sure Rob was going to be standing right behind him. 

"Then you're not the only cop with a sweet tooth?" Caitlin's voice was teasing, like her fingers when they brushed against his as she accepted the glass. 

"Let's just say some stereotypes exist for a reason," was the most he would allow and she nodded thoughtfully, although he could see her eyes were still sparkling. 

"So..." She drew out the word, one fingernail tapping against the bowl of her glass. "You only like me for the sugar high?" 

A quick look around ensured that no-one was paying attention to them and he took a step closer to her, rested one hand on her elbow, ever so briefly. "No." 

Her smile was as warm as her skin, as warm as her eyes and he only wanted to smile back so that's exactly what he did. 

By the end of the night, when he'd contented himself with simply standing by her side, watching her as she talked to the people she knew, mingled with the people she didn't, he wanted to do a damn sight more than that. It was a good job he was a patient man, he thought, because it was very late when the last of the guests cleared out and it was just him and Caitlin and his kids and a mountain of cleaning up to do. "Let's just leave it," was Wally's suggestion but Iris, being her mother's daughter, wasn't having any of that. 

"Nope," she said firmly. "You're on bottle duty. Barry, glasses. I'll take plates and bowls." 

"I guess that's my cue." Caitlin sounded reluctant to leave but Iris didn't miss a beat. 

"You'll come over tomorrow, right? Leftovers, board games and movies?" When Caitlin nodded, Iris moved to hug her. "Dress code is pyjamas, no make up and messy hair," she ordered and when she pulled back, her eyes fell on Joe. "Dad, why don't you walk Caitlin home?" 

It wasn't lost on Joe how quickly Wally and Barry suddenly became interested in their jobs. As it was, Joe's own mouth opened in surprise, but it was Caitlin who raised the obvious objection. "Iris, I only live next door." 

Iris's eyes sparkled impishly. "Well, you never know what might happen at this time of year... low flying reindeer... mischievous elves... better to be safe." 

The only thing Joe could do was shake his head; well, that and place his hand on Caitlin's back, perfectly properly, high between the shoulder blades. "Don't argue," he stage whispered. "It's getting me out of clean up." 

He waited until they were outside, the front door closed behind them, before he slid his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together and squeezing tightly. "Just so you know," he told her, "I'm not just doing this to get out of cleaning up." 

She didn't answer him, not in words, but the way she smiled at him, the way she tugged at his hand gently to bring him with her down the steps, was answer enough. Joe was more than happy enough to follow her lead, being as he didn't entirely trust Iris not to be peeking through the blinds - Caitlin's front porch provided at least some level of privacy. 

He used that privacy to good effect when he was standing with her at her front door, turning to face her and sliding his arms around her waist. "I'm glad you came over tonight." 

Her hands landed on his chest, fingers playing with the material of the jacket he'd hastily thrown on before Iris could say anything else to them. "Me too." Her voice trembled and he could feel her shivering and not, he thought, from cold. When she looked up at him, her eyes were huge, fearful even, and it struck him that this was the house she'd bought to share with her husband, the man she'd lost only a little over a year ago. Now here she was, with him, and if this night had taught him anything, it was that whatever feelings he had for her were most definitely mutual. Which still didn't mean that it was easy. 

"Hey." He brought his hand up to caress her cheek and she leaned into the touch, her eyes fluttering shut. "We don't have to do anything right now... we can take this as slow as you want." When her eyes opened, all he saw there was relief. "I just wanted a few extra minutes with you... no peanut gallery watching our every move." That was good for a giggle, which at least reassured him that his kids hadn't scared her off. "And I'd really like for you to come over tomorrow."

She nodded. "I will be there," she promised. "And I'm glad I came over tonight too." She drew in a deep breath, looked around her at the street, the lawn, the porch and the house. "It's funny... Part of me was scared to move in here... I was worried it would be too much for me, worried that I'd miss Ronnie too much... and what I've found instead..." A thin sheen of tears shimmered in the dim porch light and she blinked a couple of times, fighting them back. "It's just a lot."

"I get that." He lifted his other hand so that he was cupping her face, his thumbs sweeping up and down along her cheeks. "I know what it's like to lose the person you thought you'd grow old with... to have to figure out how to go on." It had been something they'd talked about on more than one occasion, those nights when it had been just the two of them alone in his house. "And whatever you need... I'm here for you." 

One of her hands slid up, curled over his shoulder. "You always have been." That hand continued up, cupped the back of his neck and it was his turn to shiver as she pressed her body against his and brought her lips to his. 

It could have been minutes, it could have been hours later when they separated, each breathing hard, foreheads resting against each other, identical smiles on their faces. "I'll... ah..." Joe had to pause to clear his throat, knowing that he had to leave, because if he kissed her again, leaving would be very far from his thoughts. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Her bottom lip caught between her teeth, Caitlin nodded. "Definitely," she said, stepping back from him, fishing her key from her pocket and turning it in the lock. Looking back over her shoulder, she smiled at him, all pink cheeks and swollen lips and Joe swore she'd never looked lovelier. "Merry Christmas, Joe," she said before she went inside and Joe grinned the whole way back to his house, feeling as if his feet didn't even touch the ground. 

He felt the same way the next morning as he retraced his steps, pyjama pants tucked into a pair of boots, his long coat thrown on over a fresh, clean t-shirt. (He'd known from her grin that Iris had noticed the different shirt when he'd come back downstairs after grabbing his boots from his room; in what was truly a Christmas miracle, she'd kept any thoughts about it to herself.) He knew Caitlin was awake, he'd sent her a text message to check, followed it up with a picture of the three kids sitting on the couch, gleefully opening presents, pyjamas on full display. She'd replied immediately, the message asking, "So when do I see your pyjamas?" and he hadn't thought twice before replying, "I'll pick you up in five minutes." 

It seemed to take a long time for her to answer the door - then again, maybe anticipation made it seem longer - but when she did, he could only grin at the sight of her. "Christmas pyjamas?" he asked, taking in the red jersey with Rudolph's face emblazoned on it, the tiny printed reindeer dotted along the pants. 

She tossed her head, her messy ponytail swinging as she did so. "I heard the Wests go all out for Christmas," she reminded him. "I wanted to fit in." 

She might have been flirting but he took it seriously. "Sweetheart, you fit in just fine," he told her, leaning in and brushing his lips across hers. He was a millimetre away from her when he realised just what he'd called her, surprised even himself by how natural, how easy it had been to have the word fall from his lips. She didn't seem to have a problem with it either, not if the curve of her lips under his, the way she pressed her body against his, was any indication. She was smiling when he pulled back from her. "You ready?" 

"Almost." She motioned him inside and one breath told him what she was looking for.

"Please don't tell me you were baking for my son on Christmas morning." 

Caitlin picked up a plate of gingerbread cookies that looked so good Joe's mouth began to water on sight. "I had some dough left over from making the house," she told him. "I woke up early this morning so..."

A sudden thought, a sudden memory of a different conversation in this house, made Joe tilt his head. "Not stress baking I hope?" 

She blinked, obviously surprised by his question, but then her smile returned, softer this time. "No," she said and he let out a breath he hadn't even realised he was holding. "Besides, Wally's not the only one who likes my baking." 

That much he couldn't deny. "C'mon," he said instead. "Let's go before my willpower fails me." 

He wasn't talking just about the cookies. 

From the way her eyes flared, she knew that too. 

Upon entering the West house, predictably enough, Wally went straight for the cookies, Iris giving him an amused look as she hugged Caitlin. That was nothing to the look she gave Joe as he took Caitlin's coat, hanging it up carefully before turning back to Caitlin and sliding his hand into hers. Lacing their fingers together, just the way he had done the previous night, he led her into the living room, that simple gesture the only declaration of their changed relationship he felt he needed to make. 

Strangely, having Caitlin there on Christmas Day didn't feel odd, or different. It just felt right, like she'd always been there, like she belonged there, just like she had so many times in the previous months. The only real change was the warm weight of her hand in his, the press of her body at his side, the way that when no-one else was looking, when they were alone, he would dip his head and brush his lips over hers, just so he could feel as well as see her smile. The kids were on their best behaviour, which meant plenty of smiles but no teasing comments, and when they sat down to a dinner of yesterday's turkey leftovers, Joe stood up at the table and raised his glass in a toast. 

"To new beginnings," he said and if Barry jumped a little as he spoke, if he glared at Iris as she affected a supremely innocent expression, if Caitlin ducked her head as her shoulders shook, he didn't let it bother him. 

"To new beginnings." Everyone echoed the toast, but Caitlin's voice rang clearest to Joe as he touched his glass against hers. 

It was the happiest Christmas he'd had in years and he couldn't wait to see what the new year would bring.


End file.
